[DeTomaso] Big Bend ORR report

[Will Kooiman]

I have several theories on why it came apart.

The mixture wasn't lean.  If anything it was too rich.  The A/F gauge showed
a slightly over-rich mixture.

I didn't hear any ticking, tapping, knocking, pinging, etc.  It was pulling
strong with no weird sputters, pops, etc.

I was at 3/4 throttle when it broke.  I was at 180deg water and 170deg oil.

When I changed the camshaft, I had to remove the intake.  The driver's side
was a piece of cake.  The passenger's side tore near #3.  I put some RTV on
it, tightened it up, and let it set up before starting it.  If it was
sucking oil, there might have been enough pre-ignition to crack the stock
cast pistons.

I could have sucked in some debris through the open Webers.  For a few
minutes I thought someone might have tossed something in the Webers, but all
kidding aside, I don't think anyone there would do that.

I might have cracked a piston or two without knowing it.  When I had the
engine out the last time, I didn't disassemble the short block.  I did the
valve springs, the oil pan, and that's it.  At any rate, if one of the
pistons had cracked from previous issues, it might have decided BBORR was
the time to come apart.

I don't think I dropped a valve.  The valves are new one-piece stainless.

I think the cylinder wall is cracked or windowed.  There is definitely water
on the engine.  If I just blew a piston, it would only have spewed oil.  I
don't have a puddle of oil on the ground - other than the normal oil leaks.

I'll post my progress once I start tearing it apart.  It may be a few days.
Strangely engine work isn't on my wife's honey-do list.

Will.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Taphorn [mailto:jtaphorn at kingwoodcable.com] 
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 7:31 PM
To: Will Kooiman; 'michael frazier'; 'pantera list'
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Big Bend ORR report

Congratulations BBOR racers.  Sounds like everyone had a good time despite 
Will's setback.

Will, do you think you may have broken a ring or the land when installing 
the piston?  That make the most sense to me.  Unless the cylinder was 
extremely lean; although that seems to early in the race to be catastrophic.

JT


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Will Kooiman" <wkooiman at earthlink.net>
To: "'michael frazier'" <red3644 at hotmail.com>; "'pantera list'" 
<detomaso at realbig.com>
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 8:29 AM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Big Bend ORR report


> We made it back last night without any problems.  I owe a lot to the 
> Pantera
> team for getting me back safely.
>
> It was a fun weekend despite breaking.  We were close enough to the 
> starting
> line that they gave us a ride back at half time.  We got to watch the cars
> coming back.  The M&M car passed the finish line at 185mph.
>
> There were sooo many Mad Dawg jokes I couldn't keep track.  They were all
> something like, "If that scrawny dawg comes around here again, I'm going 
> to
> slap him into the middle of next week."  I tried to take up for you M.D.,
> but that chick was pretty mean looking.
>
> Yes, as M.F. said, we broke with piston parts on the top of the engine.
> There was a lot of water and oil.  I didn't see any holes anywhere, but I
> haven't had a chance to look closely either.  If you look closely at the
> piston part, it appears to be at the ring land - with a Chevy bowtie 
> imprint
> on it.  I think I sucked up part of a Corvette as I passed.
>
> I'll post pics and descriptions when I pull it apart.  It's going to be a
> week or two, though.
>
> Will.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] 
> On
> Behalf Of michael frazier
> Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 9:55 PM
> To: pantera list
> Subject: [DeTomaso] Big Bend ORR report
>
>
>  We had a team this even if we had to get a little creative.  We had 3
> Panteras, 1 Mangusta and since that was it,I drafted a 64 Lincoln
> Continental to run as an official member of Team Pantera Racing.  The
> weather was perfect,the event ran flawlessly, many cars broke but no one 
> was
> hurt.  So all is good.  We did everything right.  I seemed tohave pissed 
> off
> several Vette owners. (Some I didn't even know about).  Steve Hawkins 
> almost
> got in a fight withan oil field roughneck.  Gary & Sylvia ran the Mangusta
> again!  Will Kooiman told the worst jokes all weekend.  Greatfriends, 
> food,
> cars & racing.  The team did well....as usual.  I took home 1st place in 
> the
> 120mph class.  Steve Hawkinsand his brother Cliff took 2nd in the 110mph
> class.  Gary and Sylvia Barkley took 2nd in the 90mph.  Will Kooiman 
> andhis
> brother Rodney took home parts of pistons that ended up on top of the 
> intake
> manifold about 5 miles from the starting line.  We'll have to wait for the
> autopsy before we determine the cause of death.  I had driven my new 
> Pantera
> about a mile before the event so I was happy to just finish.  I'm also 
> happy
> that the car ran right up to 150mph and was still pulling hard.  I also
> happy that I didn't do that ina radar zone since my tech speed was 140.
> Dennis...you're no
> longer holder of the fastest Pantera at Big Bend title.  You'll hear more
> from the other guys I'm sure.  If you weren't
> there, you were SO square.
> Michael
> Gruppo Rompiculi Corsa Y'all
>
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